At least 11 security personnel were injured after improvised explosive devices (IEDs) planted by Maoists exploded during an anti-Naxalite operation in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, officials said on Monday.
The blasts occurred on Sunday in the forested Karregutta Hills, a known Maoist stronghold, during a combing operation, a police official said. Ten of the injured personnel belong to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), while one is from the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, or CoBRA, an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
The injured CoBRA personnel has been identified as Rudresh Singh, a sub-inspector with the 210th battalion. Singh and two DRG personnel sustained injuries to their legs, while three others suffered splinter injuries to their eyes. All the injured have been shifted to a hospital in Raipur for treatment, the official said.
Security forces had established a camp in Tadpala village under Usoor police station limits in the Karregutta region in November last year, considering the area a safe hideout for senior Maoist leaders. The region has witnessed repeated operations against Left-wing extremism.
In April–May last year, central and state forces carried out a 21-day-long operation in the dense forests of the Karregutta Hills, during which 31 Naxalites were killed. At the time, forces recovered 35 weapons, around 450 IEDs, and a large cache of detonators, explosive materials, medical supplies, electrical equipment and Maoist literature, police had said.
Operations in the area are continuing with heightened caution amid concerns over hidden explosives in the forest terrain.
